Josh Hawkins (No. 3), in his field lacrosse days with Charlotte of the MLL. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Lacrosse fans get to welcome back Athan Iannucci as well as receive an introduction to Josh Hawkins at the Langley Events Centre Friday.

The Vancouver Stealth put defender Kyle Sorensen, the team captain, on the 21-day disabled list (retro to Jan. 12) with an undisclosed injury and activated Hawkins from their practice roster for Friday’s National Lacrosse League match-up with the Colorado Mammoth (8 p.m.).

Hawkins, 23, an Amherst, Mass., native, was a field lacrosse star at Loyola University in Baltimore, but the fifth-round pick in the NLL draft hadn’t played a second of the box game prior to showing up at the Stealth’s free agent and rookie camp in October. Stealth officials joked at the time that they weren’t sure if he knew how to put all the equipment on.

They did rave about how much the right-hander improved during their training camp in December and, intrigued by his athleticism, he’s the first roster addition for the Stealth (1-1). He should recognize at least one player on Colorado (1-3), since the Mammoth this week signed Iannucci, 31, who was cut by the Stealth in training camp after being their third-leading scorer a season ago.

It was the most notable preseason roster move in the nine-team NLL, considering that Iannucci was the league’s 2008 most valuable player after scoring a record 71 times for the Philadelphia Wings. Last year, when the Stealth were based out of Everett, he had 47 points, including 22 goals, in 14 games.

He lives in Langley and plays for the LEC’s main summer tenant, the Langley Thunder of the Western Lacrosse Association. He’s also an assistant coach with the Langley Jr. A team that is based there.

The Stealth, looking for more grit and versatility up front to complement Rhys Duch, 27, and Lewis Ratcliff, 32, kept instead the likes of third-round draft pick Tyler Digby, 22, and free agent find Alex Gajic, 26, a onetime member of the Mammoth.

Vancouver brass said that the parting with Iannucci was amicable and he suggested the same in an interview conducted via email on Wednesday.

“The Stealth were nothing but good to me during my time with team,” Iannucci stated. “They would fall in the ‘over and above,’ category in fact. Denise Watkins [the team owner] is a great woman and, in kind, great for the sport.

“That said, it’s not really about them at this point. It’s about the Colorado Mammoth. They are a world-class organization. Their fans are legendary.

“The thing that excites me most about all this, though? The Colorado Mammoth believe in me. That is what’s most important to me as a player and I will work tirelessly to validate that faith. Friday is just the first step down that road.”

Hawkins checks in at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds. He played in the pro field Major League Lacrosse with the Charlotte Hounds and heard about the NLL from his roommate Geoff Snider, who stars in the winter loop with the Calgary Roughnecks.

Hawkins was a first-round pick, fifth overall, in the 2013 MLL draft, going to the Hamilton Nationals. He was later traded to Charlotte.

A midfielder, he had three goals in five games for Charlotte.

There’s no word on Sorensen’s injury. He did miss a few shifts in Saturday’s 8-5 win over the Minnesota Swarm, the home opener for the Stealth that drew a crowd of 5,031. The LEC has listed lacrosse capacity at 5,500.

Sorensen, 27, was tossed out of Vancouver’s season opener, a 13-12 loss to the host Mammoth on Jan. 4, with a spearing major in the first quarter. He appealed a one-game suspension from the league, allowing him to play against the Swarm. He’s yet to have his appealed heard.

He’s been with the club since 2007.

Instead of inserting Hawkins, Vancouver could have moved Gajic or Cliff Smith, 28, back to defence and brought in Brett Hickey, 23, or Sean Lundstrom,, 21, forwards who were the team’s healthy scratches the first two games. The Stealth didn’t want to tinker with the offensive chemistry they’re trying to build, though.

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